Here’s the Exciting New Tenant Who Will Land in Berkeley’s Pie Society Space

Pie fans were disheartened to hear last month that James Beard Award-winning chef Angela Pinkerton was shutting down her Berkeley-based pie shop. In an East Bay Nosh interview about the closure, Pinkerton hinted that she knew who would be moving in — “There’s another business that will come in, it’s very exciting, but I don’t have permission to say who it is,” she said at the time. Well, now we know who’s taking the reins at 2533 Seventh Street in Berkeley: Marykate McGoldrick, who runs Sesame a Tiny Bakery, announced in a newsletter that her shop will be opening in the space. McGoldrick was the pastry chef at Camino, which closed in 2018, then opened a bakery within the Kebabery in Berkeley (also owned by the Camino team), which later shut down in October 2022.

McGoldrick acknowledged that the new space isn’t tiny (as per the bakery name), but it has “enormous potential to grow and build something special for Sesame and our community.” Sesame moves into its new space Monday, May 1, with hopes to open the bakery soon after. Pinkerton, meanwhile, will be baking pies for walk-in orders only on the first three Saturdays of April, before the shop closes Saturday, April 22.

A new Napa AVA is (maybe) on the horizon

For those deep into wine varietals, a potential new Napa designation could be approved after May 1, the San Francisco Chronicle and NapaLife report. Located near the border of St. Helena and Calistoga, a petition is seeking to designate Crystal Springs of Napa Valley as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) territory.

Raising Cane’s closes Oakland dining room

After eight months in operation, the Oakland location of fast food chain Raising Cane’s will close its dining room and switch to a drive-thru-only format, NBC Bay Area reports. Located at 8430 Edgewater Drive in Oakland, representatives of the chain said in a statement to the news outlet that car break-ins in the restaurant’s parking lot and robberies in the neighborhood led to the decision.

So long, and thanks for all the food

Two longtime San Francisco restaurants closed over the weekend after about 40 years in business. SFist caught the news that Don Ramon’s Mexican Restaurant in SoMa closed permanently on Friday, March 31, after 41 years; and shabu shabu restaurant Mums (formerly known as Cafe Mums) closed on Sunday, April 2, after 40 years, as reported by ABC7 News. The Ramirez family, who owns Don Ramon’s and are second-generation owners, told the San Francisco Chronicle that they couldn’t reach a rent agreement with their landlord who allegedly raised the rent from $10,000 to $15,000. In a message thanking customers, the family wrote on its website, “We fought long and hard to save our beloved restaurant – but in the end, hard work, community support, love and tradition weren’t enough.”

At Mums, Winnie Tam told ABC7 that her father is ready to retire at the age of 73, but added that the pandemic and “changing consumer habits” sped up his decision to retire. In a closing statement on the restaurant website, the Tam family wrote, in part, “Spanning generations, we remained dedicated to Japantown. We have celebrated with you, cried with you and everything in between! We will cherish all the moments we have had and hold on to the history and legacy.”